Ingredients:

Method:

Clean and boil the lobster claws for about 5 minutes in hot boiling water, until cooked. In a separate pot, boil the somen in boiling water until it is cooked, per the package instructions, usually for 4-5 minutes.

Rinse the lobsters with cold water, crack the shells, and remove the meat. Drain the noodles and place them in an ice water bath.

Add the tsuyu or soup base to the 1 1/2 cups water, stir to mix well.

Brush the lobster meat with some butter and grill for a couple of minutes, for extra flavors and aroma. Poached lobster can taste pretty bland and grilling with butter will bring out deeper flavors and a nice aroma.

Brush the mushrooms with some butter and grill for several minutes and remove. Drain the cold noodles and place it in two serving bowls.

Pour the soup base into the bowls and add the lobster meat and grilled mushroom on top. Garnish with some chopped green onions. Serve immediately.

A few days ago, my good friend Alice at Eat A Duck I Must texted me that I ought to try out their lobster somen recipe, citing that it takes only 15 minutes to prepare and it’s their ultimate go-to summer lunch dish. She even sent me a picture of the dish. At the sight of their gorgeous photo, I knew that I had to make it. It’s also a great coincidence that lobsters are on sale at $6.95 per pound in my Asian store. The timing couldn’t be better.

Somen, a type of Japanese noodles, is popular especially during summertime in Japan. Somen is usually served cold in a dashi-flavored sauce. The sweetest thing about this lobster and mushroom somen is that it took me practically 15 minutes to make, and the final dish was refined, thanks to the grilled mushrooms and lobster claw as the toppings. It was delicious, and utterly satisfying slurping down cold noodles with the cleanest of flavors. It is a PERFECT summer recipe!

I adapted the original recipe and added in a little extra touches: I poached the lobster claws and then grilled them with some butter. This adds a nice aroma and buttery taste to the already delicious lobster. I also brushed some butter to the oyster mushrooms before grilling. They were simply perfect for the cold somen. If you don’t have lobster, you can use shrimp or scallop. I am sure the somen will taste mouthwatering nonetheless. Bon appetit!

Looks good, but I’m a little confused… if we are boiling the lobster claws and then removing the meat and putting it aside, then when are we brushing the claws with butter and grilling them? Why would we grill the claws after we’ve already cooked and removed the meat?

I understand that. What I don’t understand is why we would grill the claws after your instructions tell us to boil them for 5 minutes and then remove the meat? Is grilling an alternative cooking method to boiling in your recipe? It’s a little confusing the way it is written in the recipe. I’m sorry for dwelling on this point.

A lot of foods can be pre-cooked and then grilled, for extra flavors. You can just use the poached lobster and there is no need to grill if you don’t want the extra flavors and aroma. Up to you. Grilling is not an alternative method to boiling. It’s an additional step to make the lobster claw taste even better. A poached and cracked lobster claw tastes pretty bland to me, but after a couple of minutes of grilling with butter, it’s a completely different thing.

Thanks for the recipe! For the grilling part, do you just have a mesh grate over your indoor kitchen gas stove? I was wondering if I could do that, or if there would be harmful soot or bad flavors from the gas stove.

Whoa, this does sound very easy! Except that you know in Malaysia lobster costs an arm and a foot. But totally replicable with the large prawns I got from my mom. All the way from Sekinchan! Super fresh and sweet.